In this illustration, NASA’s shrewd Mars helicopter stands on the surface of the Red Planet, as NASA’s Perseverance Rover (partially visible on the left) turns away. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech
Mission controllers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California have received the first status report of an ingenious Mars helicopter flying on Feb. 18, 2021, at the Jezero Crater attached to the agency’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover. The downlink, which arrived at 3:30 p.m. PST (6:30 EST) via the Mars Reconnaissance Bitcoin connector, indicates that both helicopters, which will be attached to the rover for 30 to 60 days, and its base station (on the rover) Electrical box that stores and routes communication between the rotorcraft and the earth) is working as expected.
“In the data we are looking for two big ticket items: Ingenity’s battery charge status as well as confirmation that the station is operating according to design, commands to turn off the heaters and continues to anticipate the helicopter’s electronics. Range,” said Tim Kenham. Is ahead in the JPL. “Both seem to be doing well. With this positive report, we’ll move on tomorrow with the helicopter’s battery charged.”
Ensuring that there is plenty of stored energy released in the ingenuity to maintain heating and other important functions to maintain maximum battery health for the success of the Mars helicopter. One hour of power-up will increase the rotorcraft’s battery to about 30% of its total capacity. A few days after that, they will have to be recharged to reach 35%, with future charging sessions being planned weekly while the helicopter is attached to the rover. The data downlinked during tomorrow’s charge sessions will be compared to the battery-charging sessions held during the cruise to Mars, to help the team plan for future charging sessions.
Like most 4-pound (2-kilogram) rotorcraft, six lithium-ion batteries are off-the-shelf. They currently receive a recharge from the rover’s power supply. Once the ingenuity is arranged on the surface of Mars, the helicopter’s battery will only be taken up by its own solar panel.
After deploying ingenuity on the surface, the helicopter will have a 30-Mars (31-Earth-day) experimental flight test window. If the ingenuity survives its first bone-chilling midnight – where temperatures drop to minus 130 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 90 degrees Celsius) – the team will move on to the second world with the plane’s first flight.
If the ingenuity succeeds in taking off and rotating during its first flight, more than 90% of the project’s goals will be achieved. If the rotorcraft successfully lands and continues, four more flights can be attempted, each building on the last success.
“We are in unfamiliar territories, but this team uses it,” said Mimi Ang, project manager of JPL’s ingenuity Mars helicopter. “By the end of our flight demonstration program just about every goal from here will be first, and everyone will have to succeed to move forward. We’ll enjoy this good news for a moment, but then we have to get to work. Get to work.”
Rotorcraft of the next pay generation, descendants of ingenuity, could add aerial dimension to future exploration of the red planet. These state-of-the-art robotic flying vehicles will be provided by current orbiters through high-altitude overhead or by rovers and landers on the ground, providing high-definition images and sorcery for robots or humans, and enable access to terrain that is difficult to reach. Will offer. .
Ingenuity recharges its batteries in a Mars helicopter flight
Provided by Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Testimonial: (February 2021, February 21) Reports from NASA’s Mars Helicopter were obtained on February 21, 2021 from https://phys.org/news/2021-02-nasa-mars-helicopter.html
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